Jaipur based Ritika Jhalani proves that no limitations and boundaries can stop you from achieving what you want.
“If sky‘s the limit, your sky, your limit”…
– Tom Hiddleston
Ritika Jhalani, a 19-year-old youngster from ‘Pink City’ is not normal inside. Having suffered from a rare genetic disorder Situs Inversus, Ritika’s abdominal organs are present on the opposite side of her body. But, this disorder couldn’t preventing her from taking up the challenges of roll ball on the field. After putting in relentless efforts for several years, the girl prodigy is all set to represent her country in the upcoming Asian Roll Ball Championship to be held in Bangkok. For those who don’t know, roll ball is a field sports played between two teams. Players dribble a basketball-sized ball all the while moving on skates.
She wants to make the most of her opportunity and hopes for her country to win the international honour. Here are some snippets from Jhalani’s inspiring life tale.
Ritika’s Journey: From a ‘Disordered’ patient to a national player at Asian Roll Ball Championship
Jhalani is one special person out of 10,000 people that suffer from situs inversus, a genetic disorder where all the abdominal organs like liver, heart, spleen and lungs are arranged in a mirror image reversal of the normal position. In simpler words, all organs normally present on left side of the body are present in the right side and vice versa. There are no symptoms or side effects of this disease. It can’t be diagnosed unless the doctor conducts an ultrasound for internal organs. There’s no treatment to this disease except for invasive methods like surgery in exceptional cases like heart defect.
As per Jhalani, she was diagnosed with this condition at the age of seven. She knew that her heart is oriented towards the wrong side, but she doesn’t consider it a deformity. She feels it’s good to be different from others. This condition hasn’t prevented her from accomplishing all that she had wished for.
Now, she has totally dedicated herself to this game. She practices for two hours straight twice a day and performs just like other players.
We salute the brave spirit of Ritika and wish her all the luck for her future endeavours.
